FoodsComparisons

Pork belly vs grilled chicken for acne

By SpotBite · Sources: 13 studies · one typical serving of each, on its own · Updated 2026-09-16

Pork belly scores 81/100 (GOOD) and grilled chicken scores 98/100 (GLOW) on SpotBite's Skin Score. Grilled chicken is the safer choice by 17 points, and the gap comes mostly from inflammatory fats.

Pork belly 81 GOOD

Pork belly

one serving · 85 g

Grilled chicken 98 GLOW

Grilled chicken

one serving · 113 g

Where the gap comes from

Evidence: Caperton 2014 double-blind RCT (n=14): one dose of 100% cocoa increased acne lesions by day 4 (study). All 13 sources.

Score breakdown, side by side

Pork bellyGrilled chicken
Glycemic (of 50)no carbs
0
no carbs
0
Dairy (of 25)0 g
0
0 g
0
Inflammation (of 25)16.2 g sat · 3.8 g ω-6
−21.9
1.2 g sat · 0.6 g ω-6
−3
Skin Boost (of 25)0.4 g ω-3 · low polyphenols
+3
0.1 g ω-3 · low polyphenols
+0.8
Skin Score81 · GOOD98 · GLOW

Estimates for a typical serving. Real foods vary by brand and recipe.

Verdict

If you are acne-prone, grilled chicken is the better pick of the two. A 17-point gap is the kind of swap that can show up in your skin within a week or two.

Not medical advice. Both scores are for the food on its own. What you eat with it changes the result, and breakouts usually show up 3 to 7 days after a meal. Diet is one factor among many.

See your own pattern

Scan what you actually eat and SpotBite shows which foods line up with your breakouts a few days later. Free on iPhone and Android.

Get SpotBite More on pork belly · More on grilled chicken

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